Foster Carer courses

Understanding Attachment

Aims

To provide an opportunity for foster carers to consider how the quality of the attachments the child and young person has experienced impacts on the fostering placement

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course participants will:

Be able to define what is meant by attachment

Have gained a thorough understanding of attachment theory

Be able to recognise what constitutes an attachment disorder diagnosis

Have developed a greater understanding of the different types of attachment styles the fostered child and young person may have experienced

Have considered a range of strategies for responding to the different insecure attachment styles the foster child and young person exhibits, in order to give them the best opportunity of forming secure attachments

Have gained an understanding of recent research carried out on the impact of severe neglect on brain development and its implications for children’s attachments

Be able to use a resource list consisting of books, DVDs, and websites for gaining further insight and information about how best to respond to fostered children and young people who have attachment difficulties

Foster Carer courses

Promoting Positive Mental Health in Fostered Children & Young People

Aims

To provide an opportunity for participants to develop their understanding of how best to promote the mental health of children and young people they foster

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course participants will:

Be able to define what is meant by ‘good mental health’ and be introduced to the definitions used by the Mental Health Foundation and the National Association for Mental Health

Be able to identify the risk and adversity factors that may result in some children and young people being prone to develop poor mental health

Have gained an awareness of the prevalence of mental disorders in looked-after children and young people and the importance of placement stability as a factor in improving the mental health of children and young people

Have considered strategies that can be employed in the understanding and management of a range of mental health problems experienced by some fostered children and young people such as attempted suicide, depression, eating disorders and self-harm

Have gained an understanding of the importance of resilience and the associated protective factors in promoting good mental health in children and young people

Be able to use a resource list of websites providing further information about how best to respond to fostered children and young people who have poor mental health